Aftershocks
by AdAbolendam
Summary: Learning how to be brother and sister after being something else was never going to be easy, and there is one incident in particular that Luke and Leia need to discuss. (Endor/Post-ROTJ)
1. Minor Setbacks

**Content: **A few days after his encounter with the Emperor, Luke and Leia are in the process of rebuilding their relationship, now as brother and sister, when Luke is hospitalized (medbay-ized?). There are a few more things that they need to address before they can move forward.

**Disclaimer: **Still not GL. These are his characters and world.

**Notes: **Takes place in the 'Empty Spaces' universe. Fleshes out a previously unexplained allusion in that piece.

* * *

She dismounted from her speeder bike in a grove of trees just out of earshot from where Luke was practicing and walked the rest of the way on foot. The forest hummed with life in the mid-morning sun and she breathed in the clean breeze like she could not get enough of it. After four years of breathing recycled air on various spacecraft, it was a refreshing change.

Leia heard Luke before she saw him. The low hum of his lightsaber and the staccato crash of the blade connecting with the bolts from a blaster punctuated the stillness of the Endor woodlands. Peaking around a bush, her eyes widened as she found him standing in a clearing, shirtless and blindfolded, lightsaber held aloft. She tiptoed closer, keeping a wide berth between herself and the glowing blade.

Without warning, Luke pivoted and parried a red bolt fired from one of the three training drones that encircled him.

Leia grinned.

He somersaulted and came to a crouch, avoiding two more laser blasts. Then, springing forward, he placed one foot on a drone that hovered three feet off the ground and used the momentum to launch himself high enough to hew one of the other drones in two. He landed on the mossy undergrowth, the sputtering drone falling in halves at his feet.

'Those aren't cheap, you know,' Leia called over to him.

Luke smirked, pulling his blindfold off.

'I knew you were there,' he greeted her. Using a remote, he recalled the other two drones and switched them to hibernate.

'Then you were just showing off,' Leia said, indicating his last manoeuvre with a nod of her head.

'A Jedi doesn't crave attention,' he countered with mock-seriousness.

'Then I guess you still have a long way to go.'

He gave a short laugh.

'You're not wrong.'

Luke picked up the drones, put them under his arm and sauntered in her direction.

'Want a hug?'

Leia wrinkled her nose, 'You're sweaty.'

Luke looked down at his chest.

'Yeah, I guess.'

He looked over at the clearing where he had just completed his morning exercise.

'Want to give it a try?'

Leia's eyes widened, 'No, thank you.'

Not meeting her eyes, he asked cautiously, 'Do you think you might want to? One day?'

Leia sighed and gave him a sad smile.

'Luke, I appreciate your faith in me and I know that I am no slouch when it comes to holding my own in a fight. But that…' she pointed to the destroyed drone. 'That is something completely different. I know what you think but I _don't_ have that power.'

'You do!' Luke insisted. 'It just takes work.'

Leia just gave him a rueful grin and shook her head.

'What are you doing here?' He asked, falling into step with her.

'I've just come from a debrief. We're pulling out. Camp is to be packed and we're scheduled to disembark no later than tomorrow at 18:00 local.'

'I guess vacation's over.'

She nodded.

'But that's not what I mean,' Luke continued. 'How did you find me?'

'You must have… told me,' she answered haltingly.

'I told you I where I was in the woods almost ten clicks from base?' Luke asked, a smirk in his tone.

'No, I guess not,' Leia admitted.

'Then how? How did you know?'

'Well…you're my brother! We have a… connection. We always have!'

'Yeah, but what kind of connection?' Luke prodded. 'Do you think most siblings just _know_ each other like we do?'

'I wouldn't know,' she said defiantly. 'You're the only one I ever had.'

'That we know of…' Luke muttered.

'Don't even…'

He laughed shortly.

The two had reached the grove of trees where Leia had left her speeder.

'Where's yours?' She asked.

'Back at base. I ran here.'

Leia shook her head.

'Hey, this is nothing!' He exclaimed. 'Back on Dagobagh—

'I know, I know…' she cut him off. 'Twenty miles, every day, uphill both directions, with only the clothes on your back and the Force as your guide. And you wonder why I am reluctant to take you up on your training offer.'

Luke strapped the drones to the back of the speeder and leaned against it.

'It's not easy,' he shrugged. 'But it is worth it.'

Leia looked at the ground.

'I don't… I don't doubt you, Luke. Not really. I've felt something… Sometimes… I _heard_ you back on Bespin, after your fight with—with Vader. And I've _felt_ you in my head. And sometimes, I've felt like I've been in other people's minds too. Back in the Senate, or when were about to lead an attack. It wasn't just persuasion or good oration. I changed people's minds; I made them stronger about their own ideals. And—there have been other times as well…'

Luke looked at her encouragingly and she met his eyes.

'But I'm not ready.'

He gave her a sad smile.

'I know.'

'The truth is, I don't even know what to really do now. The plan had always been that my role of leader in the Alliance was temporary. If and when the Empire fell, I had assumed that—Luke? Luke?!'

She broke off as the young Jedi's eyes rolled back in his head. He fell to his knees and pitched forward. Leia caught him and lowered him to the ground where he began to seize violently.

'Luke! What's happening?'

She struggled to roll him onto his side as his arms thrashed. Curling up behind him, Leia cradled his head in the crook of her arm as best she could as his body racked with spasms.

'Luke,' she sobbed. 'Please, please be okay…'

After several minutes, the seizure gave way to intermittent jerks and then subsided completely.

'Luke?' She rolled him on his back and placed his head in her lap.

'Luke, please!' She slapped his cheek gently.

His eyes blinked open.

'Hey! Luke!'

He did not acknowledge her, but stared past her without seeing.

'Luke? Luke! Wait here, Luke. Wait here!'

She returned from her speeder with a miniature lamp and shined the light into each of his eyes. No reaction.

'Don't worry, sweetie,' she said quickly. 'You're going to be fine.'

With a grunt of effort, she pulled him up.

'Luke, if you're in there. I could really use some help.'

It took all of her strength to get him into a sitting position in front of her on to the speeder bike.

'Luke, hold on for me, okay?'

She wrapped her left arm around him and set off as fast as she dared towards base.

It could not have taken her more than five minutes to get to this point in the woods, but the ride back to camp seemed interminable. When she was less than a minute out, she shifted Luke's weight and palmed her com-link.

'Han!'

_'Rrrrrghhh,'_ a series of barks and growls replied.

'Chewie! Get Han and meet me at the _Falcon _right away!'

A whine of protest sounded over the link.

'It's Luke, Chewie!' She explained through gritted teeth. 'We need to dock with the medbay at the _Home One_, now!'

She lost her grip on the com-link as they rounded a corner and Luke fell against her shoulder. Leia bit her lip and gunned the engine.

The _Millennium Falcon_ was docked at the edge of the Alliance camp and Leia slowed her bike when the ship came into view. As the speeder shuttered to a halt, Han stomped down the landing ramp, a hydrospanner in one hand and a greasy rag in the other.

'Hey! Princess! What's the big idea? You nearly took out the starboard landing struts!'

Leia struggled against the weight of her unconscious brother, unable to dismount and continue to hold him.

'Han, help,' she managed.

There was a dull thump as he dropped the spanner in the dirt and he ran to her side.

'What happened?'

'Can you hold him?' She asked. 'I can't get down.'

Chewie ran into view at that moment, barking Leia's com-link message to Han.

'Alright,' Han replied. 'You start her up. I'll be up there in a minute.'

'Rrrrhhhrrrghh?'

'Nah, I'll get the kid. You just make sure we are clear for launch.'

Chewie ran up the ramp and Han supported Luke long enough for Leia to slide off the bike.

'What happened?' He asked again.

'I don't know,' Leia said. 'He's catatonic. We were talking and then he just collapsed and started shaking.'

Han's mouth was a firm line as he scooped Luke up from the bike and started up the ramp after Leia.


	2. Agree to Disagree

**Thanks for the encouragement, guys! This story isn't a super long one, so I won't drag out time between updates. Enjoy!**

* * *

Leia rubbed her right shoulder and closed her eyes to the harsh glare of the medbay lights.

'How long is this going to take?' Han asked from his crouched position against the wall.

'Arraagh gharrarrrrgh, ' Chewie answered.

'That's real helpful.'

'He's right,' Leia muttered, not opening her eyes. 'Luke's a hero, Han. They aren't going to make him wait. But we lost the medical frigate in the battle and a lot of people are still in critical condition.'

'I still don't see why they wouldn't let you in there at least. You're family.'

Leia opened her eyes.

'Still getting used to that,' she whispered. 'Anyway, I didn't want to get in the way.'

'Did he tell you what happened up there? On the Death Star?'

She shook her head.

'He said he would later, but-

The doors to exam hall swished open and a medical droid emerged.

'General Solo, Princess Organa, Chewbacca,' it addressed each of them. 'Commander Skywalker is cognizant and would like to speak to you all. The seizure was caused by—

The hapless droid was cut off as the three brushed past it and found the exam room where their friend was held.

Luke blinked repeatedly as they clustered by the bed.

'Hey kid!'

'Are you alright?'

'What happened?'

'Where are your scans? Did they find anything wrong?'

'Arrgh? Rrrgh?'

Luke winced. 'Guys, one at a time? Please?'

Leia perched on the side of the cot next to his hand.

'What was that? Why did you have a seizure?'

Luke half-shrugged and opened his mouth to respond when the exam room door panel opened again.

'As I was trying to explain,' the two-one bee droid continued as the door closed behind it, 'Commander Skywalker's seizure was likely induced by one of several synaptic miscommunications we have observed in the following cranial scan.'

At this, the droid projected a three-dimensional model of a human brain in the space above the bed. The projection shifted, showing the same image from various angles and magnifications.

'Miscommunications?' Han asked.

'Indeed,' the droid agreed. 'What we are observing here the result of the repolarisation of over 57% of the synapses in the cerebrum. As a result, various neurotransmitters are either flooding the androgenic synapses, unable to be reabsorbed by the neurons to which they were transmitted, or are simply not transmitted at all.'

'What does that mean?' Leia asked.

'My brain is broken,' Luke summarized sardonically.

'Not broken, Commander,' the droid countered. 'We project a full recovery following transcranial magnetic repolarisation therapy, which we will begin, with your permission, within the hour.'

'Great,' Han interjected.

'How did this happen?' Leia demanded.

'Due to the spontaneity of the reversal the natural synaptic polarisation, we are likely observing the effects of electrocution.'

'Electrocution!' Han and Leia exclaimed.

'Yes,' the droid continued. 'Following this working theory, the Commander was scanned for further physiological damage concurrent with prolonged exposure to high voltage electricity. We discovered an atypical arrhythmia in his heart as well as some damage to the optic nerve in the left eye, both of which will be corrected following the TMR therapy, with your permission.'

Leia tried to get Luke's attention throughout the two-one bee's monologue, but he studiously ignored her gaze, focusing on the droid.

'How long will that take?' He asked.

'The TMR therapy is a lengthy procedure requiring at least two hours. Correcting the arrhythmia and the damage to the left optic nerve will only be a matter of minutes. However, we would like to keep you overnight for observation.'

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Leia's arched eyebrow and he seemed to reconsider.

'Nicely timed, kid,' Han snarked. 'Just in time to get out of striking the camp and clean-up duty.'

Luke gave him a reluctant smile.

'Alright,' he said, turning back to the droid. 'Let's get started.'

* * *

The lights in the medbay had been dimmed to simulate night on _Home One_, but Luke still blinked and winced as he opened his eyes. The medical staff had removed the patch over his left eye where he had received corrective laser surgery hours earlier and he was having trouble focusing.

'Mmmph..ution?' A brown blob next him asked.

'Whaaa…?'

'Mmm..you okay?'

'Head hurts,' he murmured. 'Can't see right.'

'Hold on,' The blob moved out of sight to the right of him and the lights in the room dimmed further.

'Is that better?' Leia's face swam into view.

'Much. Thanks.'

'Here, drink this.' She held a cup with a straw up to him and supported his neck as he took a sip.

'Thanks,' he said again.

'The medic said there might be some residual pain in the back of your head for a couple of hours from the surgery and TMR. It should go away soon.'

'Mmm, good,' he murmured. He searched for her hand with his with a creased brow only relaxing when she laced her fingers with his.

'So,' she began. 'Electrocution?'

He sighed and opened his eyes.

'I guess there's not much of a chance that I can explain later?'

Leia gave him a tight-lipped smile and shook her head.

'Where are Han and Chewie?'

'They're asleep, on the _Falcon_. They've got an 0600 wake-up call and don't change the subject.'

'The Emperor,' Luke said.

'What?'

'It was Palpatine. He _shocked_ me, some sort of Dark Force energy…'

Luke stared at some point just past her.

'I guess it must have been electrocution,' he said. 'It felt like being burnt alive.'

Leia squeezed his hand.

'He meant to kill me,' Luke continued. 'He _would_ have killed me…'

'But you stopped him,' Leia said, consolingly.

'No.' Luke refocused on her. 'I couldn't. I was almost dead, Leia. Vader stopped him.'

Leia recoiled.

'What do you mean?'

'Vader—Anakin, he picked up Palpatine and threw him in a, I don't know, some kind of pit in the floor. Anakin saved my life.'

Leia shook her head.

'I'm sure that's what it looked like, Luke,' Leia said. 'But remember what you told me? About what Vader said at Bespin? He wanted to take the Emperor's place. He wanted to you to help him overthrow Palpatine. You told me!'

'It wasn't that, Leia,' Luke protested gently. 'He died saving me. He was already weak, being kept alive by that… armour. And the Emperor's energy, whatever it was, it killed him.'

Leia continued to shake her head and took her hand away from his.

'I know it's not what you want to hear,' Luke said.

'Luke,' she began shakily. 'That you are here today, I am glad. And if Vader is who I have to thank for that, then I am grateful, but I can't… I _will not…_'

'I'm not asking you to forgive him, Leia.'

'Good,' she said shortly.

'But,' he continued. 'You can't keep all of this anger inside you. If for no other reason than you are a diplomat and you can't afford to blow up at an inconvenient time.'

Leia gave a short laugh muffled by a sob.

'I know.'

Luke reached for her hand again.

'And this is not something that is going to go away just because he is dead,' he said quietly. 'He was our father, Leia.'

'He's not, Luke,' she said sharply.

'I know it's hard to accept…'

'That monster was not. My. Father.'

Luke swallowed.

'He murdered my father. And my mother. And my people. He is the reason that I have no home. He was not my father and he never will be.'

The two sat in silence for several moments.

'I'm so sorry, Leia,' Luke replied.

'Luke, you grew up in lonely place with people who loved you, but who you always knew weren't your parents,' she said, as if he had not spoken. 'You told me about Anakin Skywalker, your father, the Jedi, within two weeks of when we met. You _always _missed him. You always needed a father.'

'That's true,' he agreed.

'I didn't,' she said. 'I had a father. And a mother. I never wanted anyone but them. I don't need to accept that that man was my biological father to fill a void in my life. In my childhood, in my family, there was only one thing that was missing.'

Luke peaked at her inquisitively through his bangs.

'You,' she concluded. 'I've always missed you.'

He gave her a small smile.

'Is that what you meant in the woods, when you said you'd been waiting?'

She nodded.

'I was so alone, Luke. For so long. I have been surrounded by dignitaries, leaders and _adults_ my entire life. I didn't realise what was missing until I met you. It was like…

'Being a whole person?' He supplied.

'Yes,' she agreed. 'You know, don't you?'

'I do.'

She bent forward to hug him and relaxed on to his chest. He rested his right hand on her back and they lay together not speaking, the silence of the medbay only interrupted by the intermittent plink of machines and the distant hum of the engines.

'Leia?'

'Mmmm?'

Luke chuckled lightly.

'You're not asleep.'

'Close,' she replied.

His chest rose and fell sharply as he sighed.

'Leia?'

She sat up wearily and raised an eyebrow.

'Now that you know the truth about who we are, do you regret… you know, after Cloud City?'

He watched the creased lines in her forehead smooth as confusion turned to understanding. 'Oh,' she breathed. Then she smiled and shook her head.

Luke laughed shortly and squeezed her hand.

'Me either.'

'We didn't know, Luke. We weren't raised together… we didn't…'

'We didn't do anything wrong,' he finished for her.

'No,' she agreed. 'And after everything that happened on Bespin…'

Luke nodded. He remembered…

**TBC!**


	3. Home

_Note: This chapter contains acts between siblings that are illegal in most states/ countries/ planets (except for the pretty bad ones...) _

* * *

**Six Months After Leaving Cloud City**

'Son-of-a-bitch! Chewie, try another cycle! This panel is still completely non-responsive! If it doesn't work this time, I'm tossing the whole thing!'

Luke poked his head through the door to the cockpit entrance and was greeted by the sight of Leia, covered patches of grease and dust, with a tangle of wires on her lap. Her normally-sleek hair stuck out in pieces from a haphazard braid and her attention was focused entirely on reconnecting the nest of wires to a darkened sensor panel.

'Chewie!' She shouted again.

'Woah, woah!' Luke rushed over and grabbed the coppery mess out of her lap. 'What do you think you're doing?'

'Oh, hey. I didn't hear you come in.' She blinked and looked up from the panel. 'I'm trying to get this wreck of a ship in flying condition. The panel blew during start-up check and _someone_ won't cycle the system for me.'

'Well you are lucky he didn't!' Luke exclaimed. 'If Chewie had cycled up, this whole thing would have caught on fire.'

Leia let out an impatient breath.

'No, because… I…'

Luke shook his head.

'What?' He demanded.

She sighed.

'Oh, you're probably right.' She shoved the useless panel to the floor. 'I've been up for twenty hours trying to get us out of here and one thing after another on this bucket keeps falling off or blowing up.'

'You didn't sleep?'

'I don't know why he loves this thing so damn much,' she continued.

'You just came straight here after the meeting with Mon Mothma and tried to leave?'

'He could have sold it for parts and got two better ships for what it costs to keep this thing- I wouldn't have left without you!' She interrupted herself, hearing him for the first time.

'I know,' he answered. 'But couldn't you have had a nap at least before we headed off on what will probably be a very lengthy rescue mission?'

'Not that lengthy. We know where we're going, we just need to stop and get supplies first. And we've wasted enough time already.'

'I don't think the Alliance saw our help as time wasted,' Luke countered.

'That's not what I…' She wiped a hand across her eyes. 'I'm tired.'

'I can see that.'

'I just want this to be over with.'

'I know.'

'We've been planning for weeks and not doing anything. I just want him back, Luke.'

'Me too.'

'I'm going to go lay down.'

'Good idea.'

As the door to the bridge closed behind her, Luke let out a long breath and surveyed the mess she had made of the circuitry.

'Yeah, we could all use Han right about now.'

Hours passed before she stumbled back up to the bridge. Her eyes were blurry and unfocused, but she looked more relaxed than Luke could remember seeing her in a while.

'Hey you,' he greeted her.

'Hey.' She hugged him from behind. 'Look at that.'

A black canvas flecked with stars in every direction spread out beyond the cockpit screen.

'You fixed the panel,' she said.

Chewie moaned balefully from his seat in the pilot's chair.

Leia laughed. 'Oh well, I guess we can add it to the scrap pile. At least you two got her in the air.'

'You didn't hear us take off?'

Leia shook her head.

'Arrgh rrrgh.'

'You're probably right,' she answered. 'We could probably all use a good sleep. How long until we reach Nar Shadda?'

Luke and Chewie exchanged a glance.

'What now?' Leia asked sharply.

'We heard from Lando,' Luke said, not taking his eyes off the starscape in front of him. 'It's going to take longer than we thought to get the IDs.'

'How much longer?'

'He doesn't know, Leia. He's doing the best he can.'

'And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?'

Luke turned to face her.

'He suggests that we go ahead on to Tatooine.'

'And do what?'

'He said he would be in touch as soon as possible.'

'So nothing, then, right?' She pressed him. 'We're just supposed to wait in the desert until Lando's connections in the criminal underworld decide to do him a favour?'

Luke shrugged helplessly.

'I'm sorry.'

Leia stood up and left the bridge.

'Well, I'm sorry too,' she muttered.

Luke winced as the panel swished shut behind her.

'How long do you think I should wait to go after her?'

Chewie whined.

'I don't know either.'

* * *

He hesitated before the door to the cabin she had claimed as her own, berating himself for his cowardice. He could stand up to the Dark Lord of the Sith, he thought, a shudder running through him at the memory, but a girl his own age who barely came up to his shoulder made him more nervous than anything he could fight with a lightsaber.

Groaning inaudibly, he forced himself to bring his hand up to knock.

'Luke?'

'Can I come in?'

A minute passed in silence.

'Leave the light off,' she acquiesced.

Luke stepped into the cabin and the door closed behind him, sealing the room in pitch darkness.

'I can't see you,' he stated unnecessarily.

A hand reached up and found his in the dark. She guided him to a seated position next to her on her bed.

'Leia, talk to me,' he broke the silence. 'You haven't said anything to me since Hoth.'

'I have.'

'Come on. Seriously, when was the last time you said anything that didn't involve orders or a mission or this plan to rescue Han?'

In the silence of the cabin, he was acutely aware of how loud the pounding in his chest was and how hot his cheeks felt.

'You too,' came the reply.

'Huh?'

'We've both slipped away, Luke. It's not our fault. We're doing the best we can.'

'I guess—

'I want to go home.'

'Leia…'

'I want to go home, Luke.'

He could hear tears in her voice and he felt his heart break.

'When he was here, when Han was here, he was so frustrating and so much of a challenge. I was always cleaning up his mess, covering for him with the High Council or else trying to convince him to stay. He distracted me.'

Luke swallowed and made himself voice the words he had choked back for so long.

'You love him.'

'I didn't,' she said. 'Not at first. I don't like men who tease and make you angry because they like that they can get under your skin. But he was good for the Rebellion and we needed him. And he kept me from thinking about home.'

'Oh,' was all he could think to say.

'And then I did.'

'Think about Alderaan?'

'Love him.'

Luke's face felt like it was burning.

'And now he's gone and I miss him and all I can think is, I wish I were home.'

He opened his mouth but no words came. The silence in the cabin was thick and suffocating.

'After he was taken, I think I would have done something…'

'Something?' He asked.

'Something I might regret,' she whispered. 'Something awful. To myself.'

'Leia…'

'If it weren't for you.'

He turned toward her in the darkness, searching for a face he had no way of seeing.

'There's nothing left of home, Luke. Nothing but dust and gas and a few thousand survivors and artifacts scattered on hundreds of different worlds. And it doesn't make any sense, but you feel like home to me. You're the only thing in the galaxy I feel like I've known my whole life. Does that make any kind of sense to you?'

'No,' he answered frankly. 'But I know what you mean.'

She wrapped her arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. He inhaled, breathing her in, and engulfed her in his arms.

'Don't leave, Luke.'

'I'm not planning to.'

'No, I mean, don't leave me. I've lost everyone else. Everyone I've ever loved. I can't lose you too.'

The fire in his cheeks had spread to the tips of his ears and blood rushed through his body at such a force that his arms ached. He tilted her head back and covered her lips with his own. She met his tentative kiss forcefully and he forgot how to breathe. He pulled back and raised their entwined hands to his lips and kissed them deeply. He tasted the beginnings of salty tears as he kissed the corner of her eye and continued back to her hair.

'Luke?'

'Yeah?'

'I don't do this too well.'

He recoiled in confusion.

'Don't do what too well?'

'Let people, um, take care of me. I appreciate it, but I…'

'Come here.'

With strength that surprised her, he pulled her on to his lap so that she was facing him.

'How about we take care of each other?'

He could feel her smile as she bent down to kiss him.

'I can do that.'

He pulled her close, not wanting to feel a fraction of space between her body and his own. He crushed his mouth against hers and she responded with a moan. She laced her fingers through his hair and rocked her hips against his. When he could not even bear the distance of their bodies in this tight embrace, he pressed himself inside of her. She hissed in his ear and kissed his jaw, encouraging him to move deeper in to her body. She rocked against him, slowly and with deliberation, each thrust pushing them closer together. He felt a warm, liquid surge from his head to his gut and he moaned against her shoulder to keep from crying out.

'Not close enough,' he panted.

'What?'

'I want to be inside of your body,' he muttered.

'You are, Luke.'

She ground herself against his hips to illustrate her words.

'I want to forget. Leia, make me forget,' he cried into her hair.

'Forget what?' She gasped between thrusts.

'I don't want to be like him.'

'Like who?'

'Leia…' He trailed off, losing himself inside of her.

Her back arched and she cried softly in his ear as she came. He followed moments later, unable to muffle his moan as he collapsed against her. They sat entwined in silence breathing in laboured rhythm with one another. Luke felt a chill when Leia finally climbed off of him.

'Are you okay?'

He nodded in the darkness and laid down next to her. 'Yeah.'

She stroked his cheek.

'You said a few things.'

'I know.'

'Who did you mean when you said you didn't want to be like him?'

'Did I say that?' The heat crept up into his cheeks again.

'Mmm-hmm.'

'Vader.'

He could feel her eyes searching his face blindly.

'You could never be like him. How could you ever think you could be?'

'He was a Jedi once. He fell.'

'You won't. You don't have that darkness in you.'

'You know that?'

'I do. You know I love you, Luke.' She told him.

'Promise?' He said lightly.

'Mmm-hmm.'

'Always?'

'I think so,' she teased.

'Good.' He kissed her forehead lightly. 'I love you too.'

* * *

'It was what we both needed,' Leia said. 'I was a wreck.'

Luke started, jarred out of his memories, and smiled.

'We both were.'

'Anyway, as far as family goes, you are all I need, Luke. I don't need to go looking for fathers or mothers…'

'Or husbands?' His tone was light and teasing.

'I don't know what you're talking about,' she evaded.

'Don't see a wedding sometime in your future?'

'It's a little soon to pick out place settings and colour schemes. ' she said lightly. 'Right now, you are all the family I need.'

Luke hugged her tightly and she drifted off, comforted by the gentle thudding of his heart in her ear.

* * *

**Fin. **

**Thanks for reading! Comments are appreciated!**


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